The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Yu Qing opened the window of the room and was immediately startled—the outside of the window was densely covered with almost completely transparent pipes!
At first, he thought he was seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes hard and looked carefully for a long time before he was sure that it really was a network of transparent pipes.

Even more astonishingly, streaks of light, like lightning, flashed and darted back and forth within the pipes. "What on earth is this for?" he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Then he suddenly remembered that when the plane was descending into Asia and Tokyo yesterday, he had vaguely glimpsed some lights shining inside the city's pipes. At the time, he thought it was just his motion sickness making him hallucinate, but he didn't expect it to be real.

"Perhaps they are a kind of material distribution and transportation system," Yu Qing guessed.

He stared at it for less than two minutes before his eyes became dizzy from the constant flashes of light. The pipes, like layers of giant spider webs, covered the entire city, a truly breathtaking sight.

Yu Qing noticed that the "lightning bolts" would occasionally enter different floors of different buildings and disappear in the blink of an eye, which made him even more convinced of his judgment: these pipes were used to transport and distribute supplies.

But he quickly realized things might not be so simple. How did that girl from Yadu manage to enter the next room so quietly last night? Could she have been "teleported" here through these pipes?

He examined the window closely and quickly noticed something special: there was an interface on the window frame that could automatically connect to and open/close the pipes. It turned out that in Yadu, people could indeed achieve end-to-end automatic transmission through pipes!

He called Donghao over, pointed to the pipes, and asked, "Was that girl just now transported through these pipes?"

Dong Hao replied, "I haven't seen it with my own eyes either, but I have relevant records in my knowledge base. As early as fifteen years ago, the eastern region had already built such an advanced transportation system connecting cities."

"Then why didn't western cities like Dongbang follow suit?"

"Well... the reasons are rather complicated. Firstly, the western region lacks the relevant technology, and secondly, people there generally believe that sealing people in pipes like cargo is something only a madman would do, so they look down on it."

"Do you know how to use this thing? Can we sit on it and try it out?"

Donghao immediately called over the humanoid waitress on duty.

The humanoid girl explained, "It's very simple to use. Just walk up to the window, say your destination, and then say the command 'Instant Arrival,' and the window will open automatically. Usually, a capsule will connect to the window within three seconds, and you can sit inside."

"Where's the best place to visit in Asia City? I'd like to take this ride around."

"It varies from person to person, but most people think the Void Ball is the most fun."

"Then let's go to the Void Sphere. How many people can sit in a capsule at a time?"

"A maximum of five."

Yu Qing excitedly pulled Dong Hao to the window and shouted, "Tai Xu Ball, arrive in seconds!"

Sure enough, the window opened automatically in the blink of an eye, and a transparent capsule quickly docked. After Yu Qing and Dong Hao stepped inside, the hatch closed, and the capsule immediately entered the tube and began to slide at high speed.

The air inside the cabin was fresh, and there was no feeling of being suffocated. Yu Qing only felt a few streaks of light flash before his eyes, and in less than twenty seconds, they were transported to a giant sphere suspended thousands of meters in the air.

He was gently tossed into the ball like a bullet, and instantly felt weightless and floated up. Looking around, he was greeted by the vast expanse of space, with distant galaxies clearly visible.

"Is this scene real or virtual..." he murmured to himself.

Donghao replied, “Your Excellency, what you see is real. The outer edge of this sphere is a giant particle lens, allowing you to observe space ninety trillion light-years away.”

Yu Qing suddenly remembered that Zhen Mi had died in a similar tourist attraction, and his interest vanished instantly. He floated for a while longer before deciding to go back.

Then he realized a little embarrassing: he had forgotten to ask how to get back. Even more ridiculous, he couldn't remember the name of the hotel he had stayed at.

Fortunately, Donghao had a photographic memory and told him that the hotel was called "Yadu Zhizhou" and the room number was 4809.

"Do you know how we can end this floating and get back to the hotel?" Yu Qing asked hurriedly.

After searching for a long time, Dong Hao, urged repeatedly by Yu Qing, said helplessly, "Sir, I can't find the relevant operation information..."

"Are we going to be stuck here forever? This is unbelievable!"

Yu Qing wanted to shout for help, but the interior of the sphere was so large that he couldn't see anyone else. Shouting would be a waste of energy.

Moreover, there seemed to be an invisible force pushing through the inner wall of the sphere, making it impossible for people to approach the edge; they could only float in the central area. Dong Hao tried to force his way to the edge, but failed.

Now all we can do is hope that the system will automatically "invite" them out when the time is up. But we've waited a long time, and nothing has happened.

Yu Qing couldn't help but reflect: In a completely unfamiliar environment, one really shouldn't be too impulsive; one should always consider the consequences before acting.

He simply relaxed his body, remained motionless, and closed his eyes.

Unexpectedly, this was precisely the standard gesture for sending a return request to the system. They were quickly pulled to the edge of the sphere, where an open capsule awaited them.

After sitting inside, the capsule paused for a few seconds, seemingly awaiting instructions. Yu Qing quickly said, "Return the way we came, arrive instantly!"

A few seconds later, they were precisely transported back to the hotel window. After entering the room, the window automatically returned to its original position.

Yu Qing couldn't help but exclaim, "I didn't even say where I was going back to, yet it knew! It's incredibly intelligent..."

Dong Hao continued, "Here, no one can hide their whereabouts. Your Excellency, from the moment we stepped into Asia City, we have been 'invisible'."

Yu Qing immediately tensed up: "Then what's the point of us going to the shelter? Wouldn't that just be telling everyone we've moved to a different place?"

Dong Hao countered, "Sir, could you tell me what kind of place that shelter is? Is it a room, a building, or an underground castle?"

"I know nothing about it, except for a coordinate and an unlock key."

“If it weren’t a single room, I think it would still be valuable.”

"Since we're here, we should at least take a look. If the people from Shengtian and Shengdi really want to come looking for us, it will probably take some effort. After all, the eastern region isn't their territory yet."

Yu Qing was also tired, so he stopped overthinking and had a good sleep in bed.

The next morning, he opened his eyes and was startled again—the girl from Yadu was sitting next to him, staring at him like he was a monster! Donghao had been guarding outside the door all night; how did she get in? And what did she want?
Yu Qing asked somewhat awkwardly, "You...how did you get in? Is there something you need?"

"As the old saying goes, 'Even if there's no door, there's still a window,' so naturally I came in through the window. Didn't you also leave through the window last night?"

"Don't you people in Asia have any privacy at all? How did you know this?" "You're not picking your nose or taking a shower, what's there to hide? There's no need to hide anything that's aboveboard. In Asia, unless you actively request confidentiality, everyone's whereabouts are public knowledge."

"Then I request confidentiality! What kind of situation is it to have someone sneak into my door while I'm sleeping?"

"Then from now on, when you go somewhere, don't say 'instant arrival,' say 'stealth.' By the way, do you know what time it is? It's 8:30!"

"Does Asia not allow people to sleep until 8:30?"

"You slept until 10:30 and nobody cared! But didn't I tell you last night to wake me up before 7? You're so irresponsible."

Yu Qing laughed, "I really forgot about that. Are you here to interrogate me? But... you guys in Asia are really strange. I spent hundreds of thousands more to book a room, and now it feels like I'm being treated like a servant..."

"You didn't know anything before? Then why pretend to be generous? Charitable spending is altruistic! Just because you forgot to wake me up, I missed today's work. If I had known this would happen, I would have just turned on the automatic wake-up service."

"Yeah, why do I have to be the alarm clock..."

The girl said in surprise, "In Yadu, there's nothing that humanoid girls can't do. Distributing simple tasks to others is to bring people closer together and build bonds of interdependence. And you... you don't understand anything..."

Yu Qing hadn't really thought of that, and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I really didn't realize..."

"Never mind, it's obvious this is your first time in Asia. I don't mean to blame you, I just wanted to ask if you need a guide? I can provide that service."

Yu Qing said, "Logically speaking, having one type of person is enough. But like you said, it's good to delegate some work to others... It's just that I'm a little afraid of you, you're too fierce..."

The girl laughed: "This is the first time someone has called me fierce. Everyone's tired of how obedient the humanoid girl is, and now they prefer someone with a bit of a spice..."

"Then, just wondering, how many Yuqing coins would this cost?"

"Free, or just a symbolic charge of one Yuqing coin will suffice. In Yadu, people don't lack money, but they lack jobs. Of course, those who can make a lot of money are an exception."

"How about I offer 100,000?"

"No. Volunteers can only charge a maximum of one coin; only those with professional certifications can charge higher fees."

"No wonder you only need energy bars and don't have to eat like us. This is like living the life of gods."

"So you've agreed to hire me as your guide?"

"Yes, a thousand times yes. Who dares to refuse a divine suggestion..."

The girl reached out and flicked Yu Qing's forehead: "Then it's settled!"

Her hands were colder than iron. At this moment, Yu Qing regretted agreeing to her request. After all, he should have gone to the shelter in secret, and there was no need for another person to know. But the words had already been spoken, so he had no choice but to accept it.

"By the way, what's your name?"

The girl pointed to the stripes on her chest: "It's written here!"

Just as Yu Qing was about to say that it was just stripes, the two characters "Qin Yun" suddenly appeared on them. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "These two characters sound like 'lover'!"

The girl protested loudly, "Please show some respect! That's an insult in Asia!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, can I call you Xiaoqin?"

The girl calmed down and said, "Okay, Xiao Yu."

"Okay, then we're on equal footing. Xiaoqin, how do I get to Maple Town today?"

"Go to Feng Town? Are you crazy? That place has been sealed off for sixty or seventy years."

Yu Qing's heart tightened: "What? It's been banned for sixty or seventy years? Why?"

Xiaoqin said, "I heard there's an underground castle there, built over two hundred years ago by someone unknown. But that's not the point. The point is, a small nuclear power plant inside had an accident. What are you going there for?"

Yu Qing hurriedly covered up, "I don't necessarily want to go. I just occasionally heard people talking about it mysteriously, and I thought it was some kind of fun place..."

Xiaoqin said, "Now, very few people mention Maple Town. A few years ago, the authorities offered a reward of 100 billion yuan to find the owner of the bunker, demanding that he pay compensation and be punished."

"Since it was built two hundred years ago, the owner must be long dead, so how can it be punished?"

"To build such a huge bunker, he must have left behind a huge amount of wealth. Can't we recover it as compensation? Some people are even suggesting exterminating his entire family!"

Yu Qing was terrified and dared not utter another word about the shelter!

To be fair, the old man was indeed too arrogant back then. For his own selfish reasons, he never cared about the consequences for society. Excessive wealth is often accompanied by unimaginable acts of recklessness.

Just then, Dong Hao knocked on the door and entered at an inopportune moment. He was slightly taken aback when he saw Xiao Qin, but quickly regained his composure and asked, "Your Excellency, shall we proceed to Shizi City as planned?"

Yu Qing secretly rejoiced that he hadn't told Dong Hao the exact coordinates of the shelter, otherwise, if she had mentioned "Feng Town" now, he really wouldn't know how to cover it up in front of Xiao Qin.

He deliberately shifted Donghao's coordinates 5 degrees eastward. This wasn't because he was cunning, but because he was worried about information leaks. While humanoid beings like Donghao frequently update their knowledge base, they are also vulnerable to hacking; everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

To everyone's surprise, Xiaoqin's expression suddenly changed when she heard "Shizicheng," and she stared at Yu Qing with suspicion: "So your real target is Zicheng. I have to report this to the authorities. This is not informing, but my duty as a citizen."

Yu Qing asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with Shizicheng? Your question is completely baffling. Is going to Shizicheng some kind of taboo in Yadu?"

"I'm sorry, this involves some top-secret information that I cannot disclose. But please don't leave this room until today's report, okay?"

"This is really weird. You're actually going to put me under house arrest for no reason? Is this the consequence of my kindness last night?"

"Don't get agitated. I appreciate what you did last night, but that's a separate matter. I'm not trying to detain you, it's just that staying in your room is the most comfortable option for you under these circumstances. It would be very uncomfortable if you were to enter the plumbing system and then be blocked."

Yu Qing looked eastward and asked, "Do you know what's going on?"

Dong Hao replied, "Your Excellency, there are still many gaps in my knowledge base regarding the eastern region." (End of Chapter)